All courses numbered 500 or above must be submitted to the Graduate Council for final approval after approval by the sponsoring College, School or Institute.
Graduate Council requires submission of this form for a new course or any change to existing courses. For a new course, please attach a copy of the syllabus and catalog description ( with catalog credit format, e.g.
3:2:1 ). The designated representative of the College, School or Institute should forward the form along with the syllabus and catalog description, if required, as an email attachment (in one file) to the secretary of the Graduate Council. A printed copy of the form with signatures and the attachments should be brought to the Graduate Council meeting. Please complete the Graduate Course Coordinator Form if the proposed changes will affect other units.
Note : Colleges, Schools or Institutes are responsible for submitting new or modified catalog descriptions
(35 words or less, using catalog format) to Creative Services by deadlines outlined in the yearly Catalog production calendar.
Please indicate : New ____ ___ Modify x Delete _______
Department/Unit : AVT/CVPA Course Subject/Number : ___AVT 668
Submitted by : Renee Sandell Ext : 8564 _ Email : rsandell@gmu.edu
Course Title: Three-Dimensional Artmaking Across Cultures (3:4:0)
Effective Term (New/Modified Courses only): Spring 2010 Final Term (deleted courses only):____________
Credit Hours : (Fixed) _3_(Var.) ______ Grade Type (check one):
__X_ Regular graduate (A, B, C, etc.)
_____ Satisfactory/No Credit only
_____ Special graduate (A, B, C, etc. + IP)
Repeat Status* (check one): X NRNot repeatable ____ RDRepeatable within degree ____ RT-
Repeatable within term *Note: Used only for special topics, independent study, or internships courses
Total Number of Hours Allowed : _3____
Schedule Type Code(s):
1. STU LEC =Lecture SEM =Seminar STU =Studio INT =Internship IND =Independent Study
2.____
LAB =Lab RCT =Recitation (second code used only for courses with Lab or Rct component)
Prereq x_ Coreq ___ (Check one):
Prerequisite: admission to the MAT program or Art Education Concentration ASTL and/or permission of the art education director. .
______________________________________________________________________________________
Note: Modified courses - review prereq or coreq for necessary changes; Deleted courses - review other courses to correct prereqs that list the deleted course.
Description of Modification (for modified courses):
1.
Reduction of credits and contact hours. In alignment with modifications of
MAT Program, this studio-based curriculum course now meets the needs of licensed, inservice art teachers for whom the credits and contact hours are

changed: course credits are reduced from 4 to 3 credits and course meets 4
2.
(instead of six) evening hours per week.
Prerequisite adds “Art Education Concentration ASTL” and changes from
“permission of the instructor” to “art education director.”
Special Instructions (major/college/class code restrictions, if needed):
Department/Unit Approval Signature :___________________________________ Date: _____________
College/School Committee Approval Signature :___________________________ Date:_____________
Graduate Council Approval Date :____________ Provost Office
Signature :_____________________________
Catalog description:
668 Three-Dimensional Art Making across Cultures (3:4:0) Prerequisite: admission to the MAT program or Art Education Concentration ASTL and/or permission of the art education director. . Explores the diversity of art forms in world cultures and work of traditional and contemporary artists. Students learn basic three-dimensional art-making techniques, including ceramics and fibers, and learn to design three-dimensional art instruction for PK-12 levels.

Unit:
Unit:
Approval from other units:
Please list those units outside of your own who may be affected by this new, modified, or deleted course. Each of these units must approve this change prior to its being submitted to the Graduate Council for approval.
Unit:
CEHD
Head of Unit’s Signature: Date:
Unit:
Head of Unit’s Signature:
Date:
Head of Unit’s Signature:
Date:
Head of Unit’s Signature: Date:
Unit: Head of Units Signature: Date:
Graduate Council approval: ____________________________ Date: ____________
Graduate Council representative: ________________________ Date: ____________
Provost Office representative: __________________________ Date: ____________

3 credits
Instructor: Aaron Stratten
Office: 703-208-7718
Home: 703-878-0123
Email: Aaron.Stratten@fcps.edu
Course Description
Three-dimensional Artmaking Across Cultures is a studio art course designed to provide pre-service art teachers with meaningful, relevant methods for engaging with culture to inform art instruction and their own artmaking. Participants will develop skills and expertise with a variety of 3D artmaking media.
Throughout the course, participants will engage in artmaking, research, and problem design. As a studio art course, the primary focus will be the creation of meaningful and inspiring art teaching prototypes informed by cultural research. A variety of materials, processes, and 3-D artforms will be explored through artmaking. By studying the work of traditional and contemporary artists, participants will identify ways of engaging with culture in art to inform their artmaking while designing instruction. Participants will respond to, develop, analyze, and modify artmaking problems for PK-12 levels.
Course Objectives

Identify and practice relevant avenues for engaging with multiple cultures;

Inform meaningful artmaking through these approaches to engaging with cultural forms, themes and contexts;

Expand, analyze, and reflect upon cultural knowledge, understanding, and experience.

Evaluate and develop appropriate artmaking problems, for PK-12 levels, tied to meaningful themes and contexts.

Develop skills and expertise with a variety of 3D artmaking materials and processes.
Required Texts and Readings
Lippard, Lucy R. (2000).
Mixed Blessings: New Art in Multicultural America . New
Press, Inc. New York, NY.
Other assigned readings will be provided in class:

Postmodern Principles , Olivia Gude


Engaging Visual Culture, Chapter 5, Codes

The Hero with a Thousand Faces , pages 255-260, 381-382, 387-391

Encyclopedia of Ancient Myths and Cultures , introduction, pages 10-12

In the Beginning: Creation Stories from Around the World, pages ix-xi
Bibliography
Anderson, R. L. (2004).
Calliope’s Sisters: A Comparative Study of Philosophies of Art.
Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Bruce-Mitford, Miranda (1996). The Illustrated Book of Signs and Symbols .
Barnes & Noble Books, New York, NY.
Campbell, Joseph (1949). The Hero with a Thousand Faces . Princeton University
Press, Princeton, NJ.
Campbell, Joseph (1988). The Power of Myth with Bill Moyers . Doubleday, New
York, NY.
Diamond, Jared (2005). Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail of Succeed.
Penguin Books.
Diamond, Jared (1999). Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies.
W. W. Norton & Company, New York, NY.
Encyclopedia of Ancient Myths and Cultures (2003) Quantum Publishing Ltd.
London.
Erickson, M & Young, Bernard, eds . (2002) Multicultural Artworlds: Enduring,
Evolving, and Overlapping Traditions . Reston, VA: NAEA
Frazer, Sir James George (1922). The Golden Bough . Touchstone Books, New
York, NY.
Gude, Olivia, Postmodern Principles , Art Education, January 2004
Hamilton, Virginia (1988). In the Beginning: Creation Stories from Around the
World.
Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Publishers, Orlando, FL.
Keifer-Boyd, Karen & Maitland-Gholson, Jane (2007). Engaging Visual Culture:
Art Education in Practice Series. Davis Publications, Inc. Worcester,
Massachusetts.
Maybury-Lewis, David (1992). Millennium: Tribal Wisdom and the Modern World .
Viking, New York, NY.
Schneider Adams, Laurie (2004). World Views: Topics in Non-Western Art .
McGraw Hill, New York, NY.
Stewart, Mary (2006). Launching the Imagination 3D – A Guide to Three-
Dimensional Design , McGraw-Hill, New York, N.Y.
Tools and Supplies
A variety of 3D materials readily available in most PK-12 art classrooms will be emphasized. The instructor will provide some tools to be used in class, but participants will be expected to supply some of their own tools and most other materials. A list of required and recommended supplies will be provided on the first day of class. Participants should be prepared to acquire materials as needed for their artworks. The tools and materials listed below are recommended for this

class.
Plastic (Rubbermaid) container
Three-ring binder
Sketchbook
Safety goggles/safety glasses
Work gloves
Plastic gloves
Apron/smock
Shop towels
Paper towels
Ruler(s) and/or yard stick
Tape measure
Scissors
Xacto knife and/or Utility knife
Board (cutting surface)
Hand saws
Tin snips
Wire cutters (needle nose)
Wire
Masking tape
Glue(s)
Hot glue gun and hot glue sticks
Clamps
Sandpaper
Hammer and Nails
Staple gun and staples
Screws and Screwdrivers
Power drill(?)
Sewing needles
Thread, string, yarn, etc.
Clay, 25 lbs. moist
Sponge(s)
Wooden clay tools
Rib / toothed rib
Paddle
Wire tool
Canvas
Plywood or masonite board
Small plastic container w/ airtight lid
Large trash bags
Rolling pin
W ooden lathe strips (less than ½”)
Pencils/pens/drawing materials
Color (?)
Spray paint, colors and clear mat
Acrylic paints
Gel medium
Modeling paste
Various brushes
Palette
Can(s), Jar(s)
Begin collecting found objects now!
Newspapers
Magazines
Box(es)
Scrap wood/lumber
Scrap fabric
Recyclables
Trinkets and miscellaneous objects
Natural materials
Materials that “speak” to you

Graduate Academic Standards, Grades
University course work is measured in terms of quantity and quality. A credit normally represents one hour per week of lecture or recitation, or not fewer than two hours per week of laboratory work, throughout a semester. The number of credits is a measure of quantity. The grade is a measure of quality. The university-wide system for grading graduate courses is as follows:
Grade Quality Points Graduate Courses
A+ 4.00
A 4.00
A- 3.67
Satisfactory/Passing
Satisfactory/Passing
Satisfactory/Passing
B+ 3.33
B 3.00
B-
C
2.67
2.00
Satisfactory/Passing
Satisfactory/Passing
Satisfactory*/Passing
Unsatisfactory/Passing
F 0.00 Unsatisfactory/Failing
* Although a B- is a satisfactory grade for a course, students must maintain a 3.00 average in their degree program and present a
3.00 GPA on the courses listed on the graduation application.
COURSE EVALUATION
Sketchbook/Journal Research
Maintain a sketchbook to include, research, source images, idea development, preliminary sketches, reflection, etc.
Class Participation
Arrive to class prepared and actively participate and contribute to class and blackboard discussions, critiques, “mini” assignments, etc.
Cracking the Code: Paper Sculpture
Construct a paper sculpture that recodes or double-codes one or more meaningful, symbolic objects.
Cultural Identity: Box Assemblage
Create a box-assemblage that represents your own cultural identity.
Object of Power: Assemblage
Create a 3D object as a symbol of power. Encode the object with power through color, symbols, materials, and means.
Mythmaking: Ceramic Construction
Create an original myth that expresses personal beliefs and values.
Illustrate an original myth in a ceramic sculpture.
Ritual Installation
Design a 4D installation representing a real or imagined personalcultural ritual.
Museum/ Research Assignment
(TBA)
IMPORTANT COURSE POLICIES
Attendance
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20%
20%
10%
10%
10%
10%
10%
10%

Regular and timely attendance is required. All absences require an email to the instructor, prior to the class meeting, explaining the reason for the absence.
Following any absence, it is the student’s responsibility to demonstrate to the instructor that they have made appropriate efforts to make up time lost due to their absence. Absenteeism, tardiness, and inability to meet due dates for work will diminish grades. Students are encouraged to use e-mail to contact the instructor for any questions or concerns regarding attendance, course work, or assignments.
Blackboard
Blackboard will be used to post announcements or changes in the course, assignments, and due dates. It will also be used to conduct discussions, and share research between class sessions. Students are expected to check blackboard regularly to participate and stay informed.
Students are responsible for all information posted on blackboard.
Class Participation
Active participation in classroom activities and discussions is a course requirement. Class participation is evaluated daily. Therefore, excessive absences and highly inconsistent participation will impact class participation grades negatively. Quality participation includes consistent attendance, obvious preparation for class, asking pertinent questions and offering relevant comments, taking notes, actively engaging in classroom discussions and other activities, working constructively in large and small groups and submitting assignments on time.
Article I.
ARTICLE II.
UNIVERSITY AND AVT DEPARTMENT POLICIES
As a courtesy to others in the class, and in accordance with George Mason University policy, please turn off all beepers, cellular telephones and other wireless communication devices at the start of class. The instructor of the class will keep his/her cell phone active to assure receipt of any Mason Alerts in a timely fashion; or in the event that the instructor does not have a cell phone, he/she will designate one student to keep a cell
phone active to receive such alerts.
Commitment to Diversity
This class will be conducted as an intentionally inclusive community that celebrates diversity and welcomes the participation in the life of the university of faculty, staff and students who reflect the diversity of our plural society. All may feel free to speak and to be heard without fear that the content of the opinions they express will bias the evaluation of their academic performance or hinder their opportunities for participation in class activities. In turn, all are expected to be respectful of each other without regard to race, class, linguistic background, religion, political beliefs, gender identity and gender expression, sex, sexual orientation, ethnicity, age, veteran’s status, or physical ability.
Statement on Ethics in Teaching and Practicing Art and Design
As professionals responsible for the education of undergraduate and graduate art and design students, the faculty of the Department of Art and Visual Technology adheres to the ethical standards and practices incorporated in the professional Code of Ethics of our national accreditation organization, The National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD).
Open Studio Hours
AVT teaching studios are open to students for extended periods of time mornings, evenings and weekends whenever classes are not in progress. Policies, procedures and schedules for studio
8

use are established by the AVT studio faculty and are posted in the studios.
ArtsBus
The dates for this fall’s ArtsBus trips are Feb 28, March 28, April 18
If you need ArtsBus credit for this semester, you MUST enroll in AVT 300 before February 3,
2009. This also applies to anyone who intends to travel to New York independently, or do the
DC Alternate Assignment. There will be NO exceptions. If you plan to go on multiple ArtsBus trips this term and wish to count them towards your total requirement, you must enroll in multiple sections of AVT 300. Please go to the ArtsBus website: http://artsbus.gmu.edu "Student
Information" for additional, very important information regarding ArtsBus policy.
Visual Voices Lecture Series
Visual Voices is a year-long series of lectures by artists, art historians and others about contemporary art and art practice. Visual Voices lectures are held on Thursday evenings from
7:30 - 9:00 p.m. in Harris Theater. The fall schedule includes four lectures:
Thursday, March 5 - 7:30 Harris Theater Lucy Lippard
Thursday, March 26 - 7:30 Harris Theater Kyzysztof Wodiczko
Thursday, April 9 - 7:30 Harris Theater Steve Heller
Thursday, April 23 - 7:30 Harris Theater Rusty Smith
If you need credit for the Visual Voices Colloquium this semester, you MUST enroll in AVT 301 before February 3, 2009.
Important Deadlines
Last Day to Add (Full-Semester Course)
Last Day to Drop (Full-Semester Course)
Selective Withdrawal Period (Full-Semester Course)
Incomplete work from Fall 2008 due to instructor
February 3, 2009
February 3, 2009
February 23 – March 7, 2009
March 20, 2009
Once the add and drop deadlines have passed, instructors do not have the authority to approve requests from students to add or drop/withdraw late. Requests for late adds (up until the last day of classes) must be made by the student in the AVT office (or the office of the department offering the course), and generally are only approved in the case of a documented university error (such as a problem with financial aid being processed). Requests for non-elective withdrawals and retroactive adds (adds after the last day of classes) must be approved by the academic dean of the college in which the student’s major is located. For AVT majors, that is the CVPA Office of Academic Affairs, Performing Arts Building A407. See an AVT academic advisor prior to seeking the dean’s permission.
Students with Disabilities and Learning Differences
If you have a diagnosed disability or learning difference and you need academic accommodations, please inform me at the beginning of the semester and contact the Disabilities
Resource Center (SUB I room 234, 703-993-2474). You must provide me with a faculty contact sheet from that office outlining the accommodations needed for your disability or learning difference. All academic accommodations must be arranged in advance through the DRC.
Official Communications via GMU E-Mail
Mason uses electronic mail to provide official information to students. Examples include communications from course instructors, notices from the library, notices about academic
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standing, financial aid information, class materials, assignments, questions, and instructor feedback. Students are responsible for the content of university communication sent to their
Mason e-mail account, and are required to activate that account and check it regularly.
Honor Code
Students in this class are bound by the Honor Code, as stated in the George Mason University
Catalog. The honor code requires that the work you do as an individual be the product of your own individual synthesis or integration of ideas. (This does not prohibit collaborative work when it is approved by your instructor.) As a faculty member, I have an obligation to refer the names of students who may have violated the Honor Code to the Student Honor Council, which treats such cases very seriously.
No grade is important enough to justify cheating, for which there are serious consequences that will follow you for the rest of your life. If you feel unusual pressure about your grade in this or any other course, please talk to me or to a member of the GMU Counseling Center staff.
Using someone else’s words or ideas without giving them credit is plagiarism , a very serious
Honor Code offense. It is very important to understand how to prevent committing plagiarism when using material from a source. If you wish to quote verbatim, you must use the exact words and punctuation just as the passage appears in the original and must use quotation marks and page numbers in your citation. If you want to paraphrase or summarize ideas from a source, you must put the ideas into your own words, and you must cite the source, using the APA or MLA format. (For assistance with documentation, I recommend Diana Hacker, A Writer’s Reference .)
The exception to this rule is information termed general knowledge —information that is widely known and stated in a number of sources. Determining what is general knowledge can be complicated, so the wise course is, “When in doubt, cite.”
Be especially careful when using the Internet for research. Not all Internet sources are equally reliable; some are just plain wrong. Also, since you can download text, it becomes very easy to inadvertently plagiarize. If you use an Internet source, you must cite the exact URL in your paper and include with it the last date that you successfully accessed the site.
Writing Center
Students who are in need of intensive help with grammar, structure or mechanics in their writing should make use of the services of Writing Center, located in Robinson A116 (703-993-1200).
The services of the Writing Center are available by appointment, online and, occasionally, on a walk-in basis.
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Date Topic
1/22 Cultural Experience: Modular
Sculpture
Create a modular sculpture that expresses an autobiographical cultural experience.

Tools, materials, and safety

What assumptions are revealed about culture in the responses?

Brainstorm key concepts for culture.
1/29 Cracking the Code: Paper
Sculpture
Construct a paper sculpture that recodes or double-codes one or more meaningful, symbolic objects.

How do objects carry cultural meaning and significance?

Idea development

Paper construction techniques
Safety: paper materials and tools
2/5 (Cracking the Code: Paper Sculpture)
Surface treatments for paper sculpture: final layers, texture, painting, etc.
2/12 Cultural Identity: Box Assemblage
Create a box-assemblage that represents your own cultural identity.


What makes up cultural identity?
How do others see me, how do I see myself?

Plagiarism, copyright, and appropriation

Construction/ assemblage techniques.
Safety: construction and assemblage
2/19 (Cultural Identity: Box Assemblage)
Additional construction/ assemblage techniques
2/26 Object of Power: Assemblage
Create a 3D object as a symbol of power. Encode the object with power
Readings Due
Review course syllabus and materials list.
Mixed Blessings
Introduction: Mapping
Five: Turning Around
In class reading:
Postmodern Principles ,
Olivia Gude
Engaging Visual Culture , chapter 5, Codes
Mixed Blessings
One: Naming
Mixed Blessings
Four: Mixing
Other Assignments Due
Cultural Experience sculptures
Culture/ Not Culture Images
3D Forms images, natural structures and human constructions
Cracking the Code sculptures
Cultural Identity assemblage
11

through color, symbols, materials, and means.
3/5 (Object of Power)
Lucy Lippard Lecture
7:30 – 8:30
Mythmaking: Original Myth
Create an original myth that expresses personal beliefs and values.

How are beliefs and values revealed through mythology?
Excerpts, The Hero with a
Thousand Faces , Joseph
Campbell
Encyclopedia of Ancient
Myths and Cultures, introduction, pages 10-12
In the Beginning: Creation
Stories from Around the
World, pages ix-xi
Mixed Blessings
Two: Telling
3/12 No Class – Spring Break
3/19 Mythmaking: Ceramic Construction
Illustrate an original myth in a ceramic sculpture.

Ceramic construction techniques

Mold-making and casting techniques.
3/26 (Mythmaking: Ceramic Construction)
Krzystof Wodiczko Lecture
7:30 – 8:30
4/2 (Mythmaking: Ceramic Construction)
Ceramic relief, moldmaking, and casting techniques
4/9 Ritual Installation
Design a 4D installation representing a real or imagined personal-cultural ritual.

What rituals do we engage in?

What is the purpose of ritual?

What is 4D?
4/16 No Class
NAEA National Convention
Minneapolis, Minnesota
4/23 (Ritual Installation)
Designs/maquettes/installations
4/30 Final studio/ artmaking session
Prepare all work for final presentation.
5/7 Mixed Blessings: A Final Critique
Cumulative showing of all work done during the semester
Mixed Blessings
Three: Landing
Postface: Dreaming
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Object of Power assemblage
Original Myth, draft
Mythmaking sculptures
Ritual Installations
All work done during the semester prepared for final presentation.

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